US3921246A

US3921246A - Brush construction

Info

Publication number: US3921246A
Application number: US501047A
Authority: US
Inventors: Franklin D Pichelman
Original assignee: Flo Pac Corp
Current assignee: Flo Pac Corp
Priority date: 1974-08-28
Filing date: 1974-08-28
Publication date: 1975-11-25
Anticipated expiration: 1992-11-25

Abstract

A brush having a molded plastic handle with bristle-receiving grooves formed therein and having a specific wire-anchoring recess to positively position the bristle-mounting wire by forming a shoulder abutment therewith to prevent forward slippage of said wire. The recess not only prevents slippage of the wire but in combination with the groove configuration maintains the desired forwardly diverging orientation of the bristle.

Description

Elite ttes 101 Pichelman Nov. 25, 1975 [5 1 BRUSH CONSTRUCTION 3,137,020 6/1964 Tilgner 300/21 x or: Franklin 1) Pichelman, FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Mmneapohs, 28,760 12/1910 United Kingdom l5/l8 9 [73] Assignee: Flo-Pac Corporation, Minneapolis,

Minn. Primary ExaminerDaniel Blum [22] Filed: g 28, 1974 Attorney, Agent, or FzrmJohn W Adams Appl. No.: 501,047

[1.5. CI. 15/207 Int. Cl. A46B 3/16 Field of Search 15/164, 182, 189, 199,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 397,076 1/1889 Gladding 15/207 1,979,240 11/1934 Adelman 15/182 X [57] ABSTRACT A brush having a molded plastic handle with bristlereceiving grooves formed therein and having a specific wire-anchoring recess to positively position the bristlemounting wire by forming a shoulder abutment therewith to prevent forward slippage of said wire. The recess not only prevents slippage of the wire but in combination with the groove configuration maintains the desired forwardly diverging orientation of the bristle.

6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures Nov. 25, 1975 Sheet 1 of2 3,21,246

US. Patent US. Patent Nov. 25, 1975 Sheet20f2 3,921,246

BRUSH CONSTRUCTION In the past brush spindles or handles have been made from wood with the bristle receiving grooves being formed on a lathe. This permits the grooves to be undercut on the back side to form an inverted sloping rear groove surface which engages the bristle held in the groove by the anchoring wire and forces them into forwardly diverging relationship. Such wooden handles have become relatively expensive and substantial savings can be obtained by using molded plastic handles. This presents a problem, however, in that these molded plastic handles cannot be made with the undercut grooves. This invention solves that problem.

For purposes of this application, diverging is defined as sloping at an acute angle to the handle axis.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a brush construction which permits the use of a molded plastic handle which includes a specific groove configuration for securely anchoring the bristle-mounting wire and facilitates manufacture while maintaining the desired forwardly diverging orientation of the bristles.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a brush having a molded plastic handle having a generally Vshaped groove formed therein with the back surface of the groove disposed generally normal to the axis of the handle to form a bristle-engaging shoulder and provided with a shouldered wirereceiving recess in the base of the groove'to receivethe initial anchoring convolution of the bare wire and anchor the bristle-carrying convolution of the wire against movement axially of the handle and thus permit the outer bristle-directing convolution of the wire tobe positively held against the outer base portions of the bristles by the shoulder formed by the back surface of the groove to direct the bristles forwardly in the desired diverging relation to the axis of the handle.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view showing my new molded plastic handle construction;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of completed brush with my new handle construction; and

Flg. 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of the completed brush shown in FIG. 2 drawn to an enlarged scale. A

As illustrated in the accompanying drawings, 1 pro vide a brush for washing hollow articles such as drinking glasses and having a spindle or handle" member designated as an entirety by the numberal 5. The rear end of the handle is tapered slightly and is provided with anchoring grooves 6 which serve to hold the same firmly within a base socket member (not shown). A spiral bristle receiving groove 7 extends helically forwardly from the base or rear portion of the handle and is of conventional rectangular cross section.

The forward end portion of the handle has a plurality of circumferentially formed grooves having a V-shaped cross section and designated by the numeral 8. The grooves 8 have a back shoulder surface 8a which is disposed normal to the axis of the handle and forms a bristle-engaging shoulder. The forward surface 8b of each groove 8 is tapered forwardly and outwardly at the desired angle of divergence of the layer of bristles wrapped therewith. The surfaces 8a and 8b merge at the base of each groove 8 and a circumferential wirereceiving and anchoring recess is formed at said base. Said recess has straight sides normal to the handle axis to positively anchor said wire against slippage axially of the handle. In the form shown three grooves 8 are pro-.

vided in the handle 5, however the number of such grooves is merely a matter of design and choice in the particular brush construction desired.

The forward end of the spindle or handle member 5 has a generally cylindrical forward tip element 10 terminating at its rear end or base in a shoulder surface 10a disposed normal to the axis of the handle and a circumferential anchoring recess 10b is provided in said tip 10 in slightly spaced relation forwardly of said shoulder surface 10a. The depth of this recess 10]) is approximately one-half the diameter of the bristle holding wire.

In the form shown, a groove 9 is provided between the tip 10 and the series of grooves 8 and this groove 9 also has shoulder 9a normal to the handle axis and a circumferential anchoring recess 9b at the base thereof adjacent to a shoulder 9a. Said groove 9 also has a sloping or tapered surface 9(- and in the form shown the angle between this tapered surface and the axis of the handle is slightly less than the angle formed be tween the sloping surface 817 and the handle axis so that the angle of divergence of the bristles wound in groove 9 will be less than the angle of divergence of the bristles wound in grooves 8.

The following is a description of the method used for attaching the bristles to the handle of the brush. The bristle holding wire is designated as an entirety by the numeral 11. The operator initially inserts the end portion of a length of wire through a hole 5a formed through forward portion of tapered surface 90. A short length of the wire is initially inserted through the hole 5a to provide a free anchoring end portion 11a. The main length of wire is bent forwardly in one of the two notches 512 provided in the forward end portions of tapered surface 90 at the ends of the hole 50 and the wire is then wrapped around the tip 10 in the circumferential groove 10b. The handle or spindle 5 is rotated in a conventional manner as by a lathe (not shown). The main length of wire is then wound around the tip 10 be hind the groove 10b and thence forwardly over the wire in the groove to securely anchor the wire to the handle 5. The wire is then wound by the operator around the tip 10 with bristles 12 inserted thereunder and anchored at their midpoints in a manner presently used in the manufacture of brushes. The wire is then wrapped around the outside of the bristles a number of times as indicated at 11b so that the bristles will be directed axially forwardly around the tip 10 and the length of said bristles is sufficient so that they extend a substantial distance forwardly beyond the tip in generally parallel relation to the axis of the handle. The wire is then extended rearwardly back to the circumferential anchoring recess 9b and wound one complete convolution therein. Thereafter a second row of bristles is fed under the next convolution of the wire ahead of the shoulder 9a and this row of bristles is securely anchored against the sloping surface 9c by the outer wrapped convolutions 11c, the angle of divergence of the bristles being established by the angle of taper of the surface 9c. The anchoring end of the wire 11a is securely fastened to the portion of the wire 11 as by being twisted therewith at 11d adjacent to the overwrapped convolution 110. as shown in FIG. 3.

The wire 11 is then extended rearwardly across sloping forwardmost tapered surface 81; and into recess 80 where one convolution of bare wire is wound to prevent axial slippage of the wire. Thereafter the operator feeds in another row of the bristles 12 under the next convolution of wire and an overlying convolution of wire is wound at the base of this row of bristles to produce the desired forward divergency of that row of bristles. This process is repeated for the other grooves 8. Spiral groove 7 extends to the rear end portion of the handle. and constitutes the conventional spirally oriented groove common to this type of brush. The wire proceeds from rear groove 8 directly into the spirally oriented groove 7. Thereafter forward divergence of the bristles is not desired and the bristles will be oriented generally perpendicular to the axis of the spindle or handle member by the straight sides of spiral groove 7 in the conventional manner used in the present manufacture of brushes by merely wrapping the wire and continuously feeding the groups of bristles until the end of the spiral groove 7 is reached where the rear end of the wire 11 can be finally anchored as by a pin or nail 13 in a conventional manner.

It will be seen that l have provided an improved brush having a molded plastic handle which is specifically designed to positively anchor the bristle holding wire in the desired position within the respective groove configuration at the forward end of the brush and prevent axial slipping of the wire and the bristles wound thereunder. With conventional wooden handles the forward grooves are undercut to provide a overlying shoulder to direct the bristles forwardly at the desired angle of divegence. With the molded plastic handle this angle of divergence is obtained by winding a third convolution of bare wire around the base portion of the respective bristle containing convolution.

The method of winding the bristle holding wire includes initially providing a first anchoring convolution wound in an anchoring recess thereafter feeding in the bristles under the next convolution of the wire and finally providing one or more outer convolutions to produce the desired angle of divergence of that row of bristles. This produces a brush construction with improved bristle stability while permitting the use of the molded plastic handle construction to reduce the cost thereof and provide a more durable handle or spindle member.

It will, of course. be understood that various changes may be made in the form. details. arrangement and proportions of the parts without departing from the scope of this invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A brush comprising.

a. an elongated handle made from molded plastic material and having b. a plurality of longitudinally spaced apart circumferential bristle receiving grooves each having a generally V-shaped cross section. at least certain of said grooves having:

1. a rear shoulder generally normal to the axis of the handle,

2. a forwardly extending bristle engaging and positioning surface. and

3. a circumferential wire-receiving and achoring recess formed in said forwardly extending surface,

c. a bristle holding wire having at least three convolutions wound in each groove:

1. a bristle holding convolution having bristles clamped thereunder,

2. an anchoring convolution underlying said bristleholding convolution and received in the recess to prevent said wire from slipping on the handle. and

3. a bristle positioning convolution overlying said bristles and holding the same at the desired angle of divergence to the axis of the handle.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1 and said rear shoulder and said forwardly extending surface intersecting to form an apex for each groove and at least certain of said recesses being positioned at said apex.

3. The structure set forth in claim 2 and said certain recesses being approximately the same depth as the diameter of the wire.

4. The structure set forth in claim 3 and said certain recesses having substantially straight side walls.

5. The structure set forth in claim 1 and said rear shoulder and said forwardly extending surface intersect to form an apex for each groove and certain of said recesses being spaced slightly forwardly of the apex of its groove.

6. The structure set forth in claim 5 and said certain recesses having a depth less than the diameter of the wire. and a fourth convolution of the wire overlying a portion of the wire in the recess to securely anchor the same therein and prevent slippage of the wire on the handle.

Claims

1. A brush comprising, a. an elongated handle made from molded plastic material and having b. a plurality of longitudinally spaced apart circumferential bristle receiving grooves each having a generally V-shaped cross section, at least certain of said grooves having: 1. a rear shoulder generally normal to the axis of the handle, 2. a forwardly extending bristle engaging and positioning surface, and 3. a circumferential wire-receiving and achoring recess formed in said forwardly extending surface, c. a bristle holding wire having at least three convolutions wound in each groove: 1. a bristle holding convolution having bristles clamped thereunder, 2. an anchoring convolution underlying said bristleholding convolution and received in the recess to prevent said wire from slipping on the handle, and 3. a bristle positioning convolution overlying said bristles and holding the same at the desired angle of divergence to the axis of the handle.

2. a forwardly extending bristle engaging and positioning surface, and

2. an anchoring convolution underlying said bristleholding convolution and received in the recess to prevent said wire from slipping on the handle, and

3. a circumferential wire-receiving and achoring recess formed in said forwardly extending surface, c. a bristle holding wire having at least three convolutions wound in each groove:

6. The structure set forth in claim 5 and said certain recesses having a depth less than the diameter of the wire, and a fourth convolution of the wire overlying a portion of the wire in the recess to securely anchor the same therein and prevent slippage of the wire on the handle.